Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1887-04-29
WISHING WELLS.
The Fortunes Said to Como by
Consulting Them.
A Rolio oftho Ancient Water worshIp-of
ferlngs OF Pins and Money, Buttons
and RRgs-The Sick Made
Whole.

In the numerous sacred or wishing
wells so widely distributed throughout
our own and other countries, may be
seen traces of the old water-worship of
bygone times. In conformity with an
early form of primitive belief, special
honors were bestowed on wells and
springs, rs being presided over by
divinities of good or evil influence; it
also being supposed that the souls of
heroes resided in such localities. Hence
in Cornwall, for instances, the way
side cross once pointed to the holy
well where saints or angels name,
tradition and legendary lore, had hol-
lowed the water that bubbled up in
its rocky basin. Thus, many are the
stories told in connection with the
time-honored village well, where often
times the maiden, with her pail, might
be seen silently breathing her deepest
wish in the well-known formula:
Water, water tell me truly
Is the man love duly
On the earth. or under the sod,
Sick or well-in the name of Godl
Similarly, we know how divinations of
this kind were once very prevalent in
the west of Europe; and Cicero speaks
of a certain lake near Toulouse in
which the neighboring tribes were
wont to deposit offerings of gold and
silver. A. Mr.. Tylor, too, remarks in
his primitive Culture, '"the ancient
lake-offerings of the south of France
seem not yet forgotten in La Lozere;"
and in Brittany, there is the famous
well of st. Anne of Auray, and the
sacred fountain at Lanmeur, in the
crypt of the church of st. Mclars, to
which crowds of pilgrims are still in
the habit of resortlng.
In Northern Europe, almost every
Esthonian village has its sacred spring;
and Danish folklore tells us of the tra-
dictionary origin of many of the wish
ing wells still regarded with so much
superstitious reverence. Thus, near
Harvested, in Seeland, is the far-famed
st. Knud's we'll, which is much visited
by persons afflicted with bodily all
ments, and also by those anxious
TO gain an insight into futurity
1T having suddenly gushed
forth, runs the legend, on the spot
where Duke Knud Lavard was trcach-
erously murdered by the Kings son
Magnus, in the year 1929 In the same
locality there is Hclen's we'll, which
has acquired widespread celebrity on
account of its miraculous virtues. On
St Johns day, pilgrimages are made
to 1t by the sick and crippled, many
travelling from distant parts to visit it.
According to one traditionary account,
given by Thorpe in his Northern
Mythology" Helen was Seaman prin-
cess, and much famed for her beauty.
A King fell in love with her. and rs he |
could not win her affection, he resolved |
on violence. In her distress, Helen |
fled from place to place, pursued by the
King; and when, ON reaching the sea-
shore, the King was about to seize
her. she plunged into the deep. But
she did not perish, for large stone
rose from the bottom of the ocean and |
received her, on which she floated over
10 Seeland! On the spot where she first
set her foot, there sprang forth fount-
ain, which still bears her name. A |
writer speaking of the wishing wells in
Sweden at the commencement of the |
present century, says: "Husby is very
pleasantly situated, and its church
is said TO be one of the oldest in Sweden.
Here is shown st. Siegfried' S well, with
the water of which the holy man Sig
fridus, according to tradition, baptized
King GLOW Skotkonung. The we'll is
still famous. and is said on many occa-
sions to be used nightly by the country
people"
Formerly, many superstitions and
ceremonies were practiced at wells.
Almost every province had some that at
certain periods of the summer were
visited, and into which a piece of
money, iron, or any metal was cast as
an offering. Amongst savage and un-
cultured races also, we find much the
same notions, many of which play
prominent part in their religious be-
]iefs. Thus, Mr.. Dorman, in his Origin
OF Primitive Superstitions, tells us how
the tribes of Central America, Mexico,
and New Mexico had their sacred
springs, and mentions the various sac
rifices offered to them. The indians of
Colorado regard springs that bubble
up from the ground W ith awe
and reverence, and bring
their sick thither to be
cured. The bubbling of the water is
supposed to be due to spirits breathing
into it. the healing power being
ascribed to these supernatural agents
Again, in the Deccan and Ceylon,
trees and bushes near springs and
wells are OF common occurrence. and